Table



July 23, 1968 M. J. MADEY 3,393,949

TABLE Filed Feb. 23, 1967 INVENTOR.

MARION J. MADEY BY United States Patent TABLE Marion Joseph Madey, ParkRidge, 111., assignor to Poster Products Inc., Chicago, 11]., acorporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 618,147 7 Claims.(Cl. 312-140) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A table is assembled fromshaped, horizontal and vertical edge connecting members, preferably madeof extruded aluminum, seen-red to resin coated plywood or other sheetmaterial, characterized especially by side edge connecting members, andoptionally front and rear edge connecting members, each of said sideedge connecting members having a right angle portion, one side of saidright angle portion extending upwardly, the other side of said rightangle portion extending inwardly, said inwardly extending portion havingat its inner end 'a-downwardly extending portion at right angles, saidupwardly extending portion having at its upper end an inwardly anddownwardly extending portion.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improvedtable which can be readily assembled and is especially useful in storesand showrooms.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved tablemade from resin coated plywood or other similar sheet material which issusceptible to scratching and wherein the scratching of the surface isavoided by a simple and unique assembly structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide structural members for atable which are especially useful in making tables from resin coatedply-wood and similar sheet materials.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing inwhich FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of table provided inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a back edge connectingmember of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a side edge connectingmember of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a front corner member ofthe table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of an upper guide rail memberfor sliding doors in the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a lower guide rail memberfor sliding doors of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of a front edge connectingmember of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of acorner member for the table shown inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of a back corner member of thetable shown in FIG. 1.

In its essential features, the table shown in the drawing comprises atable top, a pair of opposing side walls and opposing elongated sideedge connecting members, each comprising -a right angle portion, oneside of said right angle portion extending upwardly and forming an outerabutment for said table top, the other side of said right angle portionextending inwardly and supporting a lower outer edge of said table top,said inwardly extending portion having at its inner end a down-wardlyextending portion forming a right angle with said inwardly extendingportion, the upper edge of said table side walls each abutting the lowerside of said inwardly extending portion of one of said side edgeconnecting members and the outer sides of said downwardly extendingportion of each of said side edge connecting members abutting the upperinside part of one of said side walls, said upwardly extending portionofeach of said side edge connecting members having at itsupper end aninwardly and downwardly extending portion terminating at the upper sideof said table top.

Where the table has a back wall, as in the embodiment illustrated in thedrawing, the table top is connected to the back wall by a back edgeconnectin member which is identical in structure to the side edgeconnecting members. The table can also have a front edge memberconnected to the table top and similar to the side edge connectingmembers. In some cases where the table has no front wall, the downwardlyextending portion of the front edge member can be removed. Thus, in theembodiment shown in the drawing, the front of the table is provided withslid-ing doors which constitute the front wall and these are adapted toopen and close on suitable guide rails in a well known manner. In thistype of structure, the downwardly extending portion of the front edgemember can be omitted.

As shown in the drawing, where the table has a back wall, the back walland the side walls are connectd by vertically disposed corner members.The front of each of the table side walls is also preferably protectedby a vertically disposed corner member. The upper corners of the tableare provided with corner members which interfit with the edge connectingmembers.

In the specific structure shown in the drawings, the table top 1 isconnected by means of side edge connecting r members 2 and 3 to sidewalls 4 and 5 A back wall 6 is secured to a back edge member 7. The sidewall 4 is connected to the back wall 6 by means of a vertically disposedcorner member 8 as shown in FIG. 9. The front of each of the sidewalls 4and 5 is protected by a vertically disposed corner member 9 as shown inFIG. 4.

A bottom 10 is secured to the side walls 4 and 5 and to the back wall 6and the table is supported by means of four legs 11, which are securedto the bottom 10. Corner members 12 are provided at each of the fourcorners connecting the edge members around the top of the table. I

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the front of the table comprisessliding doors 13 and 14 which are mounted in a known manner between anupper guide rail 15 and a lower guide rail 16. The upper front edge ofthe table is provided with an edge connecting member 17 as shown in FIG.7 which is connected to the table top 1.

The top, the side walls and the back wall are all fastened to thevarious edge members in any suitable manner, for example, by means ofscrews. Thus, the back wall 6 is held in place by means of screwspassing through the holes 18 as shown in FIG. 2. The side wall 5 is heldin place by means of screws passing through the holes 19 as shown inFIG. 3. The table top 1 is held in place by means of screws passingthrough the holes 20 as shown in FIG. 2 or the holes 21 as shown in FIG.3.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the edge connecting member 3,which is preferably made of extruded aluminum, has the shape of a rightangle at 22. One side 23 extends inwardly a distance correspondingsubstantially to the thickness of the side wall 5. .At its inner end adownwardly extending portion 24 forms another right angle. The top ofthe side wall 5, therefore, abuts against the lower side of the inwardlyextending portion and the upper inside part of the side wall 5 abutsagainst the outer surface of the downwardly extending portion. The

other side of the right angle 22 extends upwardly in a vertical plane,then inwardly at 26, and downwardly at 27. The lower end of thedownwardly extending portion 27 is spaced from the upper side of theinwardly extending portion 23 a distance substantially equal to thethickness of table top 1. Hence, the portion of the edge member 25 whichextends above the table top 1, together with the inwardly an downwardlyextending portions 26 and 27, form a guide rail at one side of the tabletop. Similarly, the back edge member 7, the other side edge member 2 andthe front edge member 17 form guide rails which completely surround thetable top and retain objects placed thereon.

Referring to FIG. 8, the corner member 12 is preferably made of extrudedaluminum and consists of a solid block portion 28 and projectingportions 29, 30, 31 and 32. The latter are sized to fit within theopening at the ends of the edge connecting members. Thus, the projectingportions 29 and 30 are adapted to fit within the opening formed by thesides 23, 25, 26 and 27 of the edge connecting member 3 shown in FIGURE3. It will be understood that the to 1 is cut away at the corner asufficient distance to accommodate the projecting portions of the cornermember 12.

As shown in FIG. 9, the vertically disposed back corner members 8consist of two right angle shaped members having sides 33, 34, and 36and connected by another member 37. The sides 35 and 36 are parallel andare spaced apart a suflicient distance to occommodate a side wall 4. Thesides 33- and 34 are likewise parallel and are spaced apart a distancesufficient to accommodate the back wall 6.

With reference to the corner members 28, it should be noted that theprojecting portions 29, 30 and 31, 32 can each be combined into a singleprojecting portion. However, by employing a plurality of projectingportions sufiicient resilience is provided to make it easier to engagethe corner members with the associated edge connecting members. Theouter upper corner 38 of each corner member 28 is preferably bevelled asshown in FIG. 8.

The invention makes it possibl to assemble a table using plywood panels,for example, panels made of A" or plywood coated with any suitable typeof coating, for example, melamine formaldehyde resins orurea-formaldehyde resins, which are commonly available in commercialforms, such as Formica. The assembly can be fitted without scratchingthe resinous surface of the panels. Furthermore, all of the requiredcomponents are readily manufactured by extrusion processes. While it ispreferable to use extruded aluminum components, it will be recognizedthat steel or other metals and even very strong other types of materialscan likewise be employed.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A table comprising a table top, side walls, and opposing elongatedside edge connecting members each comprising a right angle portion, oneside of said right angle portion extending upwardly and forming an outerabutment for said table top, the other side of said right angle portionextending inwardly and supporting a lower outer edge of said table top,said inwardly extending portion having at its inner end a downwardlyextending portion forming a right angle with said inwardly extendingportion, the upper edge of said table side walls abutting the lower sideof said inwardly extending portion and the outer side of said downwardlyextending portion abutting the upper inside part of said side walls,said upwardly extending portion having at its upper end an inwardly anddownwardly extending portion terminating at the upper side of said tabletop.

2. A table as claimed in claim 1 in which said edge connecting membersare made of extruded metal.

3. A table as claimed in claim 1 which also has a back Wall connected tosaid top by back edge connecting members identical in cross sectionalshape to said side connecting members.

4. A table as claimed in claim 3 in which said side and back edgeconnecting members are joined together by corner members.

5. A table as claimed in claim 4 in which said corner member hasprojecting portions on two adjacent sides interfitting in openings inadjacent edge connecting portions.

6. A table as claimed in claim 1 which also has a back wall connected tosaid top by a back edge connecting member identical in cross sectionalshape to said side connecting members, has a front edge connectingmember secured to said top and has back vertically disposed cornerconnecting members secured to said back wall and on each back corner tosaid side walls, said back corner connecting members each comprising apair of right angle members connected at the inside of one of saidangles and the outside of the other of said angles by a third memberwith the sides of said angles being parallel and spaced apart asuflicient distance to receive the back wall and one of the side wallsof said table.

7. An edge connecting member for connecting a table top and side wall,said connecting member being formed of rigid sheet material having aright angle portion, one side of said right angle portion extendingupwardly, the other side of said right angle portion extending inwardly,said inwardly extending portion having at its inner end a downwardlyextending portion at right angles, said upwardly extending portionhaving at its upper end an inwardly and downwardly extending portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,033,161 7/1912 Dixon 312-2,088,077 7/1937 Wood 312-140.3 2,139,618 12/1938 Hall 312257 FOREIGNPATENTS 253,917 4/ 1948 Switzerland.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

J. L. KOHNEN, Assistant Examiner.

